Entering its fifth month without a budget, Illinois’ fiscal house of cards is beginning to fold.
Rauner and the Democrat supermajority in the House and Senate have yet to reach a deal that would include a state spending plan and much-needed reforms for small business owners on issues such as workers’ compensation.
And time is running out. State Comptroller Leslie Munger has said the state’s tab of unpaid bills would reach $8.5 billion by year’s end. Already, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings downgraded the state’s credit.
Rauner, according to a recent Chicago Tribune editorial, should “ignore the Surrender Illinois caucus: “Governor, ignore the Caucus. You’d betray voters who elected you if you didn’t secure economic and other reforms to help rescue Illinois.
“Here’s why: This state cannot tax or cut its way to prosperity. Illinois instead must grow more jobs, more taxpayers and thus more revenues. That means making Illinois less hostile to employers.”
Making Illinois less hostile to employers is a sentiment NFIB members can support.
